Case Study Eight

Dunham Engineering

Why did we move our offices from the suburbs to downtown Minneapolis? Two reasons: Our customers and our employees!

The reasons are numerous but here’s our “Top Ten”

1. Downtown Minneapolis, with its easy access by car, bus or light rail, is more convenient for our customers.

2. An abundance of parking is readily available for client meetings in our office. For employees who prefer to drive to work – there is a multitude of parking options from which to choose.

3. Downtown Minneapolis brings Dunham geographically closer to our clients and the region’s largest architectural firms with whom we partner.

4. Being downtown gives us a more professional image and strengthens our credibility with clients.

5. The energy in Downtown is everywhere – connecting with clients and colleagues in the skyways, streets or restaurants – this is one way we grow our business in today’s faced-paced world.

6. Recruiting talented engineering professionals and support staff in our suburban location was becoming a real challenge. Most of the “up and comers” wanted to work downtown.

7. Employee access to downtown? Outstanding – highway congestion is less than in most office locations around the city and many employees now use public transportation, some even biking to work!

8. The disruption of a move was minimized by a variety of downtown resources including the TMO who facilitated transit options for our employees. The move was so seamless that Dunham only lost two employees in the move – and one of those has since returned to our firm!

9. Employee satisfaction. Amenities like the Farmer’s Market on the Mall; diverse restaurant choices; convenient shopping; numerous financial, medical and professional services – all help employees with the challenges of work/family balance.

10. It’s fun! Dunham employees and our guests now enjoy a wide variety of events after work – baseball, basketball, and football games; jogging; biking; health clubs; lawn bowling; happy hours; Holidazzle parties; concerts. It hasn’t taken long for our employees to learn their way around the downtown neighborhood – and they like what they’ve found!

Why did we move our offices from the suburbs to downtown Minneapolis?

The real question is, “Why did we wait so long to move Dunham to downtown Minneapolis!”